Texas Wesleyan Men’s Golf wins NAIA championship

The Texas Wesleyan men’s golf team won the 2019 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Men’s Golf Championship by 11 shots on Friday at Las Sendas Golf Club’s Hilly Desert Course in Mesa, Arizona.

Wesleyan took down defending champ Oklahoma City Stars to move into second place in all-time national championship wins. Oklahoma City leads the NAIA with 11 victories.

“As I think back over the years of qualifying for the national tournament, I’m most proud of the span of time separating the wins. 29 years after winning our first national championship, we get one here after being so close many times before,” head coach Bobby Cornett said. “I’m even more proud of our guys for working through exhausting travel just to make it in time for round one. After flight cancellations, sleet and snow, we barely made it to Phoenix for round one. The team pushed through exhaustion, stayed focused and came out on top.”

Futa Yamagishi had the low round on Friday for the Rams, shooting and even par 71 and climbing 10 spots on the leader board to finish tied for 26th. The senior from Tokyo, Japan played a clean back nine and had just one bogey.

Victor Miron shot a 77 (6-over) in the final round, but led the team with a 290 overall for eighth place.

Tyron Davidowitz finished the tournament just outside the top 10 with a 291. Rowan Lester added a total of 293, which included five birdies. The Rams finish the season with six win and the 2019 title is the first national championship for the team since 1999 and marks the program’s 223rd win.

“Our golf team has established a phenomenal record over a long period of time and this national championship just adds to the legacy of this program,” Athletic Director Ricky Dotson said. “I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am of these guys. Bobby and Shaun have led a special group of young men to the top of the mountain and Texas Wesleyan University, and all our fans, couldn’t be more excited.”

Texas Wesleyan Results

Place, Playder, Rd 1, Rd 2, Rd 3, Rd 4, Total

1 Texas Wesleyan 293 283 294 296 1166

T8 Victor Miron 70 70 73 77 290

T11 Tyron Davidowitz 73 70 75 73 291

T14 Rowan Lester 75 70 71 77 293

T26 Futa Yamagishi 76 73 75 71 395

T48 Declan Kenny 75 75 79 75 304

This story was originally published May 29, 2019 at 12:17 PM.